OPTIONS APLENTY
What Zoom has very cleverly done with the Q8 is take the most valuable features from the H5 and added them to an HD camera. This makes it a very clever little combination for musicians who want both high quality audio and video in one. The interchangeable microphone capsule allows you to take other capsules used with the H5 or H6 and swap them out. The Q8 comes standard with the all too familiar XY condenser microphone pair that Zoom has become well known for, but you can change this around for a shotgun style or even an omni-directional microphone if you wanted to. Controlling the audio recording is really simple with the use of the touch screen. You do not need to spend hours flipping pages of a manual to get it going, just power it up and you’ll have it worked out in no time.
BEYOND HD
What the Q8 offers on the video side of things is a ‘beyond HD’ video recording ability with 3M HD video capture delivering stunning results. It works especially well in low light situation, which is perfect for bands wanting to capture gigs and live performances. There are two HD options as well, which allow for more recording time on you SD card should you wish. My only issue was with the wide angle lens. As useful as this is, allowing you to capture the entire band within the shot, it did tend to bow the image slightly, as is the case with any lens of this nature. That aside, it does give you the ability to fit an entire stage within the shot even at close range. In all, this is a standout product from Zoom and one that has set new levels in the world of portable recording. We have come a long way since the Dictaphone and zoom have taken us a lot further than we could have imagined.